Palmer Trinity School boys’ varsity soccer coach Julio Melean and his team decided they wanted to give back to the community by beginning a new tradition called “Project Kick Start Christmas.” So, on Dec. 18, more than 30 soccer balls were donated with a promise of more to come at the Parish Hall of Sacred Heart Church in Homestead.
Coach Melean and his team have combined education, athletics and charity with the hope of bringing joy to a group of under-privileged children by presenting each of them with a soccer ball for Christmas.
Several team members presented the soccer balls to children whose fathers or mothers are in prison. It is an opportunity, says coach Melean, “to deliver some Christmas spirit to a group of children who might otherwise miss out. Perhaps one of the recipients might grow into a budding player and find himself or herself playing for their high school or college, or even become a professional. One of these soccer balls might be a passport to salvation or freedom for one of these children and it might just keep them on the right path.”
If nothing else, the PTS soccer team believes it will spark an interest by these children in the game of soccer that is both national and international, as well as providing them with exercise. Coach Melean hopes Project Kick Start Christmas will promote both the game and a sense of giving, while fulfilling the Angel Tree’s motto: “From your hands to their hearts”.
Project Kick Start Christmas is an offshoot of Angel Tree 2010, www.angeltree.org/deliverlove organized through St. John Neumann’s Catholic Church in Miami.
If you are interested in donating to Project Kick Start Christmas, email Coach Melean at coquim@aol.com.
